Thanks for all of the great recipes yesterday! It's not too late if you still want to share, just go to the previous post. With all of t...

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Speakin of swimsuits...

I like to eat.

It is one of my favorite things.

Especially if I am eating warm homemade chocolate chip cookies....

or pumpkin... anything pumpkin...I Luuuvvv pumpkin.

One thing I've learned about myself is if I want to lose weight the worst thing I can do is deny myself of my favorite things (chocolate, pumpkin pie, bread/ pasta etc.). If I'm trying to cut out sweets ALL I want from the minute I wake up to the minute I go to bed is SOMETHING with sugar in it. I try to compensate with other sweet things so I drown my food in honey or artificial sweetener ANYTHING that will quench my craving but in the end it is never enough and I end up eating the cookie or ice cream or hand fulls of chocolate chips.... aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh, much better.

I'm like a rebellious teenager. If you tell me not to eat chocolate, guess what, I'm gorging myself on brownies as fast as you can say "you have no self-control Kathryn".

Yeah, I'm pretty much addicted to yummy things.

I've got about 10lbs left to lose from my 4th baby. He is 6 months old and I'm getting really tired of wearing my "bigger clothes" and bulging out of my pre-pregnancy clothes. I am too cheap to buy a whole new wardrobe so I have got to lose a few pounds.

I know I'm not the only one out there who is in the same type of situation... you just need to lose a few pounds right?!

You know me, I'm ALL about sharing, so here is my thought;

I think we should share our ideas. (BRILLIANT!)

What practical tips/ideas do you use that help you stay fit or lose weight. I know we all have a few tricks up our sleeves. What are they???

I'll share mine first.

Like I said, deprivation does NOT work for me so I have to work on other things.

**In the past if I exercise 3+ times a week for at least 35minutes and if I stop eating after 7:00pm I lose weight. Not 10lbs a week but maybe 1-3lbs a month which is pretty good since I really don't change my diet at all (since eating is my favorite thing remember). So why do I still have 10lbs to lose you wonder... ummmm, because ice cream tastes better after 7:00pm.

**Also, I keep a bag of chocolate chips in my freezer so when I have a chocolate craving I grab a few chips and get my chocolate fix without destroying everything I'm working towards and since the chips are frozen the fix lasts a little longer (wow, I really do have a problem don't I?!).

23 comments:

two words.... weight watchers. Because I can eat all those nummy things if I keep enough points for them. No joke most nights I have an ice cream sandwich AND a fudge bar, it rocks! The first week I lost 6 lbs, which is normal for the first week but not for the following weeks, 1-2 lbs a week is normal after the first. It seriously ROCKS! And with an iphone app called itracker it is easy to track your points ;)

I've been making an effort to be more active--everywhere I can. I take more trips up and down the stairs (instead of making my 5yo do it for me), park farther away and walk to stores, take a walk with the toddlers in the afternoons, that kind of thing. I figure every little bit helps, and then I don't feel so bad with the cookies (or whatever).

I just hit my pre-preggo weight and my baby is 7 months old. What worked for me in losing the weight was moving twice within the past 6 months....that really helped shed the pounds...but if that's not an option, hehe, then try the sugar-free creamsicles or fudgicles....they really seem to hit the spot when I'm craving something yummy and it's perfect for summer!!!! Good luck!!!

GUM!! It gives me flavor and the ability to chew something. I allow myself to chew more pieces if the flavor runs out. I also load a book onto my ipod and get walking after my two kids are asleep. Listening to the book takes my mind off what I'm doing and I end up walking several miles easily. 10 more lbs. to go for me too from baby #2!

I also have 10 lbs. to lose. (after my 7th - she's one and a half - I'm a little slow.)

I am like you in that I can NOT deprive myself so today I had 2 bites of an Almond Snickers (Mmmmm...) and the rest is waiting for me tomorrow. Unless those kids get their grubby mitts on it. Then all heck's gonna break loose and they will rue the day...

Okay, where was I? Oh! Right! Tips on weight loss. I like to use a salad plate or even a saucer instead of a dinner plate. That really helps with dishing myself smaller portions.

Additionally, I do a lot of dreaming of what I'm going to eat tomorrow. There's always tomorrow. It's only a day away.

i concur. i can go days without chocolate, but as soon as i "can't" have any, then that's all i want and i am cranky.

tamra has this 21 day food plan thing. she was doing it and so i did. i got maple syrup on my oatmeal and that helped the sugar thing. other than that, i was eating a LOT of food, but lost almost 10 pounds that first week. after a week, i cheated a bit. i made chocolate chip cookies, put my cookies in the freezer and allowed myself one cookie each night, that way, during the day, i had something to look forward to.

and now? more than a month later? i am down 15 pounds and will keep going. i have a lot more to go, but now have the confidence that i will be at "dating weight" for our anniversary next year.

(plus, i'm doing t-tapps, the best exercise out there for lazy butts...18 minutes and i'm done, and it makes a difference)

I'd share my plan with you, but I have the exact same plan as you. If I exercise 3-4 times a week and go to bed hungry, I can lose a few pounds. I don't diet because I'm incapable of dieting. I ate my willpower. Sorry. I'm no good to you.

FOOD JOURNAL!!! When I need to shed a few pounds, it always works better if I write down everything I eat. (right down to the single chocolate chip!) This is a great way to figure out what you're doing right- and maybe not so right! I never deprive myself of anything. It's like telling someone, "Don't think of the color pink." You're thinking of pink right now aren't you?!

Hi,I need to lose 10 lbs too.. and have no baby to show for it :-)I'm by no means an expert but have found a few tricks that help- and tho- I'm not down the full ten yet, I'd like to think that I'd be alot heavier with out my "tricks".. because I LOVE FOOD...-Sugar Free Pudding- all kinds of flavors, use some canned whip cream on the top for a good treat and I can't tell the difference-strawberries with splenda and a little whip cream.-if I am STARVING before bed then I'll eat but otherwise I'm done after dinner.-Sunday desserts... we started this a year ago and it does seem to be helping... we try to always have dessert on Sunday after dinner... then not the rest of the week... I can look forward to dessert on Sunday and not feel guilty about it. Plus the kids look forward to it (I still sneak a skinny cow during the week - usually in the afternoon)-I don't shower until I exercise... sometimes it's 3pm before I do but on day where I don't have to be anywhere.

Oh- I had that green swimsuit top in my shopping cart at modbe and switched to pink at the last minute... too funny!

I just try to stay active... like take the stairs, play with the kids at the park, ride bikes with them ( I have two in the bike trailer). I don't try to deprive myself, if I want ice cream, I'll have it, but only once in a while. I also try to drink LOTS of water to keep me feeling full. Good luck!!

Exercise, lots of exercise! I have absolutely no willpower, so I just work it off. Step classes, cycling classes, hiking, running on the treadmill, Pilates - especially Pilates - all do the trick for me. And the side benefit is that I get 90 minutes free childcare at the Y each time I go. It's summer vacation, so a daily break from the kids (3 of them) is GREAT incentive to work out!

My second baby is 9 months old and I have 15 lbs until my pre-preg weight. I always have to wait until after I'm done nursing in order to see any sort of weight loss (I stopped nursing about 2 months ago). Then I have to work hard, or the weight does NOT come off. I currently run 4 miles 2-3 times a week, then 2 times a week I do weights and or yoga for 30 minutes. So basically I mix cardio with strength throughout the week. My biggest diet change is eating oatmeal for breakfast every morning, portion control at other meals, and healthy snacks only. I can eat anything for lunch or dinner pretty much as long as I don't eat too much. And I only snack on fruit or nuts. I only eat something sugary once a week. With all that, I only lose maybe 1 lb a week if I'm lucky. It takes me a while. BUT once I hit my goal weight, it sticks and I don't have to work terribly hard to maintain.... it's the losing that is really hard for me. Aside from the weight loss, though, I love how I feel when I am eating right and exercising regularly. I have so much more energy and I feel better about myself

Oh my gosh, I could have written this post. The way I lose is to stop eating after 7pm and exercise. I also snack on frozen chocolate chips and i had the last lingering 10 pounds of baby fat to lose. Only my baby is 18 months old. I guess by this time it's not considered baby fat anymore, it's my fat. So here's what I have been doing. I drink green smootie for breakfast (whatever frozen fruit you want plus spinach all blended up with milk). Then I make sure I distract myself during the afternoon. If I plan a trip out of the house I can't snack my way to dinner time. Then I get home just in time for the mad rush for dinner. It's easy to do in the summer. Play dates, park days, swimming, museums, factory tours with the kids. Fun stuff! I make sure I pack healthy snack for the kids like apples, carrots, pears, grapes, cucumbers. Then if I want to sneak their snacks I have not blown it. I have lost 4 pounds in the last 2 1/2 weeks so now I only have 6 more to go! Yipee!

I live in the country (so no gym membership)and HATE (H.A.T.E) working out to videos. So I've been walking/running each morning or night. I live near a creek and do a few aerobics there, where I can have pretty inspiration (and here comes my trick...) and on my way back home from the country roads I go on, I always pick myself a flower. Every time a different one and the goal was originally to see how many flowers I could accumulate before having to toss them but then, I realized I just liked to have a visual reminder of how often I am getting out. SO, it works for me.

I'm so glad to hear I'm not the only one who has a bag of chocolate chips in the freezer to quench those chocolate cravings!! I decided 4 weeks ago to start counting calories, along with exercising at least 5 days a week and it's working. I totally agree on not depriving yourself of things or that is all you can think about. I'm trying to look at spending my calories each day like I look at spending money. It's really easy for me to control spending money, but calories are much harder to control for me!!! So if I know I have a certain # of cals to spend each day, I can plan accordingly and not feel guilty about a handful of chocolate chips.

I am with Renee, cut out ALL drinks that are not water. I lost my extra weight mostly with that. I didn't realize how many calories I was drinking!! And really I didn't miss it too much, better to cut that out and still eat a cookie or two!

Fun blog! I found you from the Ucreate tutorial...I'm looking forward to trying that for my daughter's bows. Anyway, someone mentioned WW and their point system is awesome. I used their online program and it was really helpful for me to lose the baby weight and still eat what I wanted. Also, I think it's extremely important to find something you love that gets you moving. There's a local workout class in my town called Power Dance that is AMAZING. It's so much fun that I forget I'm working out. I also learned how to snowboard, which I try to do once every other week in the winter...it's not really something that will help me to lose weight, but it keeps me active (and I have more fun snowboarding if I'm in better shape, and knowing that encourages me to go to my dance class on the days I'm not feeling into it).

Yea, those last 10 pounds can be tricky to shed :)...but don't despair; this too shall pass! I've found, (for me, at least), that keeping a "food diary" everyday works the best. I monitor how many proteins, fruits, veggies, carbs, etc. that I've eaten; just to make sure I'm getting all the nutrition in that I'm supposed to have. Believe me, it's surprising what I eat in a day; and if I don't keep track of it, it's just all-too-easy to grab a half-dozen cookies in one sitting :) I actually have a little "form" that I've made that fits in my purse that lists all I'm supposed to have. Hope this helps...and keep up the good work :)..your blog is AwEsOMe!!